V 


CIRCUS   DAY 


BY 

GEORGE  ADE 

Illustrated 

BY 

JOHN  T.  McCUTCHEON 


AKRON,   OHIO 

Ube  Saalftelfc  publisbtna  Company 

NEW   YORK  1903  CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,   1903, 


The  Saalfield   Publishing  Company 


MADE     BY 

THE    WERNER    COMPANY 
AKRON,     OHIO 


CIRCUS    DAY 


THE     NIGHT     BEFORE 


M/H/0 


THE  NIGHT  BEFORE 

'LL  bet  they  don't  have 
that  many  snakes,'7 
said  Shaver  Thomp 
son,  as  he  and  the 
other  boys  stood  in  a 
row  and  looked  at  a  big  picture 
of  the  red  and  yellow  and  blue 
snakes.  One  of  the  snakes  seemed 
to  be  as  big  around  as  a  barrel, 
and  as  long  as  the  smoke-stack 
on  the  Perkins  mill.  It  had  its 
mouth  wide  open,  and  the  boys 

—  7 i 


Circus   'Day. 


could    see    its    tongue,   which    was 
shaped  like  a   pitchfork. 

"Mebbe  they've   got    that    many, 


but     there     ain't    none    of    Vm    as 
big  as  that,"  said  Sam  Groves, 


Circus   'Day. 


u  Well,  I  guess  we  can  see  to 
morrow  for  ourselves,"  said  Shaver 
Thompson. 

ullow  much  have  you  got  saved 
up  ? "  asked  Joe  Wallace  of 
Shaver  Thompson. 

u  1  ain't  got  any  yet,  but  pa  prom 
ised  me  fifty  cents  for  weedin1  the 
garden.  How  much  have  you  got  ?  " 

"  I've  got  seventy-three  cents, 
but  I  don't  know  whether  I'll 
spend  it  all." 

Joe  put  his  hand   into  the  back 
pocket    of    his    knickerbockers  and 
-9— 


Circus   'Day. 


brought  out  a  chunk  of  rubber 
car-spring,  a  buckle,  a  piece  of 
twine,  and  a  small  memorandum 
book.  He  replaced  all  the  arti 
cles  except  the  book,  which  he 
opened  at  page  1.  Shaver  Thomp 
son,  Sam  Groves,  and  Morty  Klein 
looked  over  his  shoulder  and  read  : 

THE  SAVINGS  ACCOUNT  OF  JOSEPH  AVALLACE. 

Received  from  his  mother lOc 

Sold  copper  boiler  to  Terry  Bros.  .  .  .  12c 

Picked  cherries — Mrs.  Oliver 16c 

Carried  note  for  Benton  Griswold .  .  .  05c 

Sold  paper  to  Terry  Bros 04c 

Picked  bugs  — Mrs.    Oliver 05c 

Sold  pettafied  rock   to  Dr.  Alien lOc 

Sold  2  bottles  to  Dr.  Allen Olc 

Hunting  Cow  —  Mr.  Collins lOc 

Total 73c, 


Circus   2>ajK- 


Bill  Frost  came  along  and 
stopped  in  front  of  the  long  bill 
board  where  all  the  pictures  of 


the    circus     were    stuck     up.     Bill 
was    14    years    old,    and    he    had 


Circus   *Day. 


been  to  Martinsville  the  year  be 
fore  to  see  the  biggest  circus  that 
ever  traveled,  so  the  smaller  boys 
did  not  have  much  to  say  when 
he  was  around. 

u  Say,  Bill,  do  you  s'pose  they've 
got  any  snakes  as  big  as  that  ? " 
asked  Shaver  Thompson. 

Bill  closed  one  eye  and  looked 
at  the  picture  of  the  snake,  and 
then  he  shook  his  head  slowly. 
1  They've  prob'ly  got  some  big 
snakes,"  said  he,  u  but  not  as  big 
as  that  feller." 


—  12  — 


Circus   *Day. 


"Did  you  see  any  big  ones  at 
Martin  sville?"  asked  Joe  Wallace. 

"Well,  I  should  say  I  did." 
Bill  sat  down  and  the  other  boys 
got  in  a  line  along  the  edge  of  the 
wooden  sidewalk  to  listen  to  him. 

It  was  already  dusk,  and  while 
Bill  told  his  stories  of  the  great 
things  he  had  seen  in  the  white 
tents  at  Martinsville,  the  darkness 
came  on.  Bill  was  telling  about  the 
monkeys  that  rode  horseback,  when 
a  man  started  across  the  street 
to  where  the  boys  were  sitting. 
-13- 


Circus   "Day. 


"  Here  comes  your  father,  Joe," 
said  Sam  Groves.  Joe  did  not 
say  anything.  Mr.  Wallace  came 
up  close  to  the  boys  and  asked, 
uls  Joe  here?" 

uYes,  sir,"  replied  Joe,  although 
he  was  sorry  that  his  father  had 
come  to  take  him  away  from  the 
circus  stories. 

u  Come  on  home,  now,  it's  get 
ting  late,"  said  Mr.  Wallace. 
u  You'll  get  all  the  circus  you 
want  to-morrow." 

Joe  started   to  follow  his  father 

-14- 


Circus   *Day. 


across  the  street,  and  then  he 
called  back,  "Don't  forget,  Shaver! 
You  know  what  I  mean." 

uBet  I  do.77 

After  Mr.  Wallace  and  Joe  had 
reached  the  butcher  shop  corner 
Joe  stopped  and  gave  three 
whistles.  He  listened  and  heard 
Shaver  Thompson  answer  with 
three  whistles  of  the  same  kind. 

"What's  that  for?77  asked  Mr. 
Wallace. 

"Nothin'  much,77  said   Joe. 

He  did  not  want  to  tell  his  father 

-15- 


Circus 


about  the  plans  he  and  Snaver  had 
laid  for  next  morning,  when  the 
circus  was  to  come  to  town. 


Joe  could  not  go  to  sleep  right 
away  that    night    because    he    had 
-16- 


Circus 


so  many  things  to  think  about. 
In  a  little  while,  however,  he 
dozed  off  into  dreamland,  and  saw 
beautiful  white  ladies  riding  on 
spotted  horses,  while  a  fat  clown 
stood  on  his  head  and  juggled 
cannon-balls  with  his  feet. 


—  17  — 


EARLY  MORNING 


—  19  — 


EARLY  MORNING 

woke  up  two  or  three 
times  in  the  night.  He 
wanted  to  be  sure  not  to 
sleep  late.  Once  when 
he  opened  his  eyes  he 
could  see  the  daylight  outside. 
U0h,  my!"  he  said,  as  he  slipped 
out  of  bed  and  began  to  put  on 
his  waist,  "what  if  the  circus  has 
come  to  town  while  I've  been 
asleep  ?  " 

He  said  this  to  himself  because 

-21- 


Circus   *Day. 


his  father  and  mother  were  asleep 
in  the  next  room.  As  soon  as  he 
had  dressed,  he  pushed  the  wire 


screen    out     of    the    window    and 
crawled    outside.      The   grass    was 

22 


Circus   2) ay. 


wet  with  dew,  which  made  his  bare 
feet  cold  as  he  stood  benearh  the 
window  and  put  the  wire  screen 
back  in  its  place. 

He  tiptoed  around  the  house 
and  as  soon  as  he  got  to  the 
sidewalk  in  front  he  ran  down  the 
street  toward  Shaver  Thompson's 
house.  The  sun  was  not  yet  up 
and  although  there  was  enough 
daylight  for  Joe  to  see  every 
thing,  the  sky  was  gray  and 
cloudy  just  as  it  is  sometimes  be 
fore  a  storm.  Joe  could  not  see 
—  23  — 


Circus  'Day. 


any  one  on  the  street.  The 
houses  all  looked  so  silent  and 
deserted,  he  became  a  little  fright 
ened.  It  was  the  first  time  he 
had  ever  been  up  that  early  in 
the  morning. 

When  he  came  to  where  the 
Thompsons  lived  he  crawled  over 
the  fence  and  went  around  to  the 
side  of  the  house.  He  knew  that 
Shaver  slept  with  his  brother 
Benny  in  the  room  just  over  the 
bay-window.  Joe  found  some  small 
pebbles  and  began  to  throw  them 
-24- 


Circus   'Day. 


against  the  window.  In  a  minute 
or  two  he  saw  Shaver's  sleepy 
face  at  the  window  and  he  had 
to  laugh,  for  Shaver  could  hardly 
get  his  eyes  open,  and  he  looked 
so  much  different  in  his  night 
gown. 

"  Hurry  up,  Shaver,"  said  Joe 
in  a  loud  whisper.  "It's  gettin' 
to  be  awful  light.  I  bet  the 
show's  here." 

Shaver  nodded  and  went  back 
to  dress.  This  did  not  take  much 
time.  He  crawled  out  on  top  of 
—  25  — 


Circus   T>ay. 


the  bay-window  and  looked  down. 
u  Is  it  too  far  to  jump  ? "  he 
asked. 

u  No  ;  you  can  jump  it,"  said 
Joe. 

So  Shaver  jumped  and  when  he 
struck  the  ground  he  went  rolling 
over  in  the  soft  grass  and  Joe 
had  to  laugh  at  him  again. 

The  two  boys  went  over  the 
front  fence  like  a  couple  of  lively 
kittens  and  ran  down  the  street  to 
gether.  All  the  stores  were  closed, 
but  they  met  Herman  Klein,  the 

—  26- 


Circus   'Day. 


Herman  butcher,  who  had  to  get 
to  his  shop  early  because  he  was 
going  to  furnish  the  show  with 
meat  for  the  wild  animals. 

There  was  no  need  of  hurrying. 
When  they  reached  the  show 
grounds  they  could  not  see  any 
thing  that  looked  like  a  circus. 
So  they  stopped  and  looked  to 
the  east  along  the  road  that  ran 
close  beside  the  railway  track. 

u  Shaver,  are  you  sure  they're 
goin'  to  come  from  that  way  ? " 
asked  Joe. 

—  27  — 


Circus   'Day. 


"  Bet  I  am,"  said  Shaver.  "  Didn't 
Ezra  Tindall  ride  over  to  Bruce- 
vine  yesterday  to  see  the  show  ? " 

u  Let's  walk  up  to  the  water 
tank  and  then  we  can  see  it 
sooner,"  said  Joe. 

The  water  tank  was  a  half  mile 
east  of  town.  While  they  were  walk 
ing  along  the  track  the  sun  came 
up,  glowing  like  a  ball  of  polished 
gold,  and  the  boys  knew  they  were 
going  to  have  good  weather. 

When  they  reached  the  water 
tank,  they  sat  down  and  waited 


Circus   'Day. 


and  waited  and  waited  for  the 
circus  to  come  over  the  hill  down 
by  the  Perkins  farm. 

"AVhat  if  it  don't  come  at  all?" 
asked  Joe  at  last. 

"Aw,  it's  got  to  come,"  replied 
Shaver. 

So  they  waited  and  waited.  The 
sun  climbed  higher.  Once  the 
boys  saw  a  wagon  coming,  but  it 
was  only  a  farm  wagon  from  the 
Perkins  place. 

"  Gee  !  I'm  hungry,'7  said  Shaver 
Thompson. 

-29- 


Circus   *Day. 


Then  Joe  said,  "  So  am  I.  Let's 
hurry  home  and  get  breakfast,  and 
mebbe  we  can  be  back  here  by 
the  time  it  comes." 

So  they  trotted  back  along  the 
track  and  went  home  and  they 
hadn't  seen  any  of  the  circus  yet. 


—  30— 


THE  ARRIVAL 


—  31  — 


THE  ARRIVAL 

OSEPH  WALLACE,  where  have 
you  been  ? "  asked  Mrs. 
Wallace,  as  Joe  came 
in  the  front  door,  pant 
ing  for  breath. 
uAw,  I  just  been  to  see  the 


circus  come  in.'1 


u  Well,  of    all    the    crazy   boys ! 

Is  the  circus   here  yet?" 

uNo,  I  want  to  hurry  back." 
u  You'll    not    hurry    back,"  said 

Mrs.  Wallace.     uGo  and  eat  some 

3  -33- 


Circus   'Day. 


breakfast.  We've  all  had  ours. 
Then  you  dress  yourself  and  take 
Dora  down  to  the  circus  lot." 

Dora  was  Joe's  six-year-old 
sister.  She  had  already  put  on  her 
new  white  dress  with  the  blue 
sash. 

U0h,  ma!"  exclaimed  Joe,  "I 
promised  Shaver  Thompson  to  meet 
him." 

u  I  can't  help  it,"  said  his  mother 
firmly.  u  Don't  you  want  your  sister 
to  see  the  circus,  too  ?  " 

U0h,  well,  I  s'pose  I'll  have  to," 

-34- 


Circus   "Day. 


said  Joe,  and  he  really  felt  as  if 
he  were  a  badly  used  boy. 

He  ate  his  breakfast  as  fast  as 
he  could  and  then  he  ran  to  his 
own  room  and  started  to  dress. 
He  put  on  his  gray  suit,  a  white 
waist,  the  black  stocking's  and 
new  laced  shoes,  and  the  Sunday 
straw  hat. 

Dora  was  waiting  for  him  on 
the  front  porch. 

u  Where's  pa  ? "  asked  Joe  of 
his  mother. 

uHe  went  to  the  store.  Now 
-35- 


Circus   *Day. 


don't  make  Dora  run.  Here,  let 
me  tie  your  cravat." 

"  I'm  in  a  hurry ! "  cried  Joe. 

"You  can  wait  a  moment,  can't 
you  ? "  asked  his  mother,  and  she 
had  to  smile  when  she  saw  how 
anxious  he  was  to  get  back  to  the 
show  grounds. 

u  I'm  goin'  to  see  the  circus  come 
in,  too,"  said  little  Dora,  hopping 
up  and  down  with  delight. 

"  Come  on,"  said  Joe,  as  he  took 
his  sister  by  the  hand.  They  ran 
out  of  the  front  gate,  and  the  last 
-36  — 


Circus   'Day. 


thing*  he  heard  his  mother  say 
was,  u  Don't  make  that  child  go 
so  fast." 


Dora    wanted    to    run,  however, 
and  she  kept  close  behind  Joe. 


—  37  — 


Circus   'Day. 


When  they  turned  the  last 
corner  and  came  in  sight  of  the 
show  grounds,  what  did  they  see  ? 
Big  red  and  blue  wagons  all 
marked  over  the  sides  with  gold 
letters.  Strange,  rough-looking  men 
hurried  about,  some  rolling  big 
balls  of  white  canvas,  some  driv 
ing  stakes,  some  pulling  at  ropes. 
There  were  horses  and  horses  and 
horses.  Dora  saw  two  spotted  ones 
and  began  to  point  at  them  and 
cry,  "  Joe,  Joe,  look  !  " 

Just     then      Joe      saw     Shaver 


Circus   'Day. 


Thompson  helping  a  man  pull  at 
a  rope. 

u  Shaver  !  "   shouted  Joe. 

Shaver  looked  around  and  as 
soon  as  he  saw  Joe,  he  yelled  : 

"Joe,  they  got  an  elephant  an' 
two  bears  an'  the  most  things ! 
Oh,  the  dandiest  ponies !  Hurry 
up  and  see  !  Hooray  !  " 

Joe  grasped  Dora  by  the  arm 
and  followed  Shaver  around  the 
end  of  a  huge  red  wagon. 


—  39— 


THE  TENTS 


—41— 


THE  TENTS 

s  JOE  and  Dora  followed 
Shaver  T  h  o  in  p  s  o  n 
around  the  wagon  they 
came  very  near  run 
ning  into  the  biggest 
and  strangest  animal  they  had 
ever  seen.  It  seemed  to  be  al 
most  as  large  as  a  load  of 
hay.  It  was  the  color  of  dry 
mud,  and  it  had  short,  thick 
legs  and  big  flat  ears  -  and  its 
nose  was  drawn  out  in  front 

-43- 


Circus   *Day. 


until    it  was    like    a    long,    limber 
rope. 

"Oh— h— h— h!"  shouted  Joe, 
as  he  backed  away  from  the 
monster. 

Dora  turned  and  ran,  squealing 
with  fright,  but  she  fell  over  the 
tongue  of  a  wagon  and  lay  there 
kicking  and  crying. 

"Aw,  don't  be  afraid,"  said 
Shaver  Thompson,  as  he  lifted 
Dora  to  her  feet  and  began  to 
dust  off  her  white  dress.  "  That's 
the  el'phant." 

-44— 


Circus   'Day. 


"Don't  be  afraid,  Dora,"  said 
Joe,  but  he  was  trembling'  a  little 
himself. 


u Can't  you    see    he's  chained?" 
said  Shaver  Thompson. 


Circus   'Day. 


Sure  enough  the  big  elephant 
had  a  chain  around  one  leg  and 
this  chain  was  fastened  to  a  stake 
in  the  ground. 

Dora  quieted  down  and  when 
she  saw  the  great  big  elephant 
blinking  at  her  with  his  little 
eyes,  she  began  to  laugh. 

"See,  I  told  you  not  to  be 
afraid,  said  Joe. 

But  just  then  the  elephant  lifted 
his  trunk  up  in  the  air  and  let 
out  a  loud  bellow  and  all  three 
of  the  children  turned  and  ran. 

-46- 


Circus 


One  of    the    circus    men  saw  them 
run  and  he  began  to  laugh. 

u  That  elephant  eats  kids,"  he  said. 


Shaver  and  Joe  and  Dora   stood 
farther     away    from    the     elephant 


Circus   *Day. 


and  watched  him  pick  up  hay  and 
put  it  in  his  mouth. 

u  Does  he  eat  children  ? "  asked 
Dora,  holding  tightly  to  Joe's 
hand. 

"  Course  he  don't,"  said  Shaver 
Thompson.  uThat  man  just  said 
that  to  scare  us." 

After  they  had  watched  the  ele 
phant  for  a  little  while,  they 
walked  around  to  watch  the  men 
spread  the  white  canvas  on  the 
ground.  The  circus  men  had  put 
up  a  long  tent  that  was  full  of 
-48- 


Circus   'Day. 


horses,  and  they  saw  four  ponies, 
and  one  of  them  was  not  much 
bigger  than  Mr.  Terry's  big  dog. 
They  saw  two  men  cooking  at  a 
stove  ton  feet  long.  As  they 
walked  around  the  cages  they 
could  hear  the  animals  growling 
and  whining  inside.  8am  Groves 
went  up  to  one  of  the  wagons 
and  tried  to  look  in  through  one 
of  the  cracks,  but  a  circus  man 
told  him  to  keep  away  and  then 
ran  after  him.  While  Joe  and 
Dora  were  watching  some  men 

4  -49 


Circus   T)ay. 


wash  long  white  stockings  and 
hang  them  on  a  rope  to  dry,  a 
big  fellow  in  a  blue  shirt  said  to 
Joe,  "  Do  you  want  to  work  your 
way  in  ?  " 

Joe  faltered  and  then  said, 
"Yes,  sir." 

"  Well,  you  take  this  bucket 
and  sponge,  and  then  get  some 
water  and  wash  off  this  hyena 
cage.'7 

He  showed  Joe  which  cage 
he  meant,  and  Joe  took  the 
bucket. 


—  50  — 


Circus   *Day. 


"Now,  Dora,"  said  Joe,  "you'll 
have  to  get  on  the  fence  and  stay 
there  till  I  wash  this  cage." 


"I    don't    want    to.      I    want    to 
stay  with   you." 

—51  — 


Circus   'Day, 


"Xo,   sir;  I've  got  to  work." 

So  Joe  made  Dora  sit  up  on 
the  fence  by  Mr.  Watson's  house, 
and  he  went  over  to  the  pump 
and  got  a  bucket  of  water. 

"When  Joe  climbed  up  on  top 
of  the  hyena  cage  and  began  to 
scrub  with  the  sponge,  Shaver 
Thompson,  Will  Murphy,  Morty 
Klein,  and  some  other  boys  stood 
around  and  watched  him. 

"AYhat  kind  of  an  animal's  in 
there,  Joe?"  asked  Will  Mur- 


52- 


C/rct/sf 


"  It's  a  hy-nenaV  said  Joe. 
u  That's  what  the  man  said.'7  He 
meant  u  hyena." 


Just    then    Joe    heard    the  voice 
of  his  mother. 


Circus 


"  Joseph  Wallace,  what  are  you 
doing  on  top  of  that  cage  ?  " 

Joe  stopped  work  and,  looking 
down,  he  saw  his  mother  and 
Mrs.  Groves. 

"I'm  workin'  to  get  in  the 
show,"  said  Joe. 

"Come  down  from  there  this  very 
minute,'7  exclaimed  his  mother. 
>l  Do  you  want  to  ruin  your 
clothes  ?  You've  splashed  water 
all  over  yourself.  Where's  your 
sister?" 

"  She's    riht    over   there    on  the 


Circus   *Day. 


fence,"  said  Joe,  pointing  to  where 
he  had  left  Dora.  But  when  he 
looked  over  at  the  Watson  fence, 
Dora  was  not  there. 

u  She's  gone  !  "  said  he,  and  he 
began  to  be  frightened. 

"Gone  !  "  said  his  mother.  uYou 
hurry  down  and  help  me  find  her. 
Didn't  I  tell  you  to  watch  her  all 
the  time  ?  " 

Joe  crawled  down  from  the 
wagon,  and  some  of  the  boys 
laughed  and  said,  u  Oh,  Joe,  I  guess 
you  won't  get  in  the  show  now." 

—  55  — 


Circus   *Day. 


Joe  went  with  his  mother, 
and  they  found  Dora  with 
Mattie  Groves,  looking  at  the 
ponies. 

Mrs.  Wallace  took  charge  of 
Dora  while  Joe  went  with  Shaver 
Thompson  to  watch  the  man  in 
the  huckster-stand  make  fresh 
candy  and  pull  it  on  a  hook  fast 
ened  to  a  blue  pole. 

u  Gee !  that  looks  good,"  said 
Shaver  Thompson.  "  Have  you  got 
any  money?" 

"No,"  said  Joe,  "I  think  I   bet- 

-50- 


Circus   *Day. 


tcr  go  up  to  the  store  and  get 
my  money  of  pa." 

By  this  time  the  high  center- 
poles  had  been  put  up  and  the 
circus  men  were  getting  ready  to 
raise  the  tent-covers  which  lay 
spread  on  the  ground. 

Joe  and  Shaver  did  not  like  to 
leave  the  show  grounds  even  for 
a  minute,  but  they  wanted  some 
spending  money,  so  they  started 
on  a  run  for  Mr.  Wallace's  store. 


—  57  — 


THE  PARADE 


—  59  — 


THE     PARADE 


R.  WALLACE  laughed 
when  he  saw  Joe  and 
Shaver  come  into  the 
store.  Joe  said  he 
wanted  his  money,  so 
Mr,  AVallace  counted  out  seventy- 
three  cents  and  the  boys  went 
back  to  the  show  grounds  as  fast 
as  their  legs  could  carry  them. 

While  they  were  away  the  big 
tents  had  been  pulled  up  on  the 
poles.  One  tent  was  for  the 


Circus   *Day. 


animals  and  the  other  was  for  the 
circus  ring  and  the  seats.  So 
many  things  were  happening  when 


Joe    and    Shaver    came    back    that 

they  forgot  all  about  buying  any  of 

-62- 


Circus   'Day. 


the  fresh  candy.  The  circus  men 
were  hitching  horses  to  red 
wagons.  Other  men  were  putting 


up    the    seats    in    the    tent    where 

the  circus  ring  was  to  be.     A  big 

-63- 


Circus   'Day. 


wagon  that  had  been  covered  with 
canvas  proved  to  be  a  band-wagon 
when  the  canvas  was  pulled  off. 
It  was  painted  with  red  and  gold 
and  had  mirrors  in  the  sides 
of  it.  Eight  black  horses  were 
hitched  to  this  wTagon. 

Joe  and  Shaver  shouted  with 
delight  when  they  saw  a  clown 
sitting  in  a  little  wagon  driving 
two  of  the  ponies.  They  started 
to  follow  the  clown,  when  they 
saw  the  band  musicians,  all  in 
bright  uniforms,  climbing  into  the 
—  G4  — 


Circus   'Day. 


red  and  gold  wagon.  Then  the 
first  thing  they  knew  they  saw 
the  elephant  coming  with  two 


long-legged     camels     behind     him. 
While     they    were    watching    the 
5  —65  — 


Circus   *Day. 


elephant,  about  twenty  men  and 
women  in  gay  suits  of  velvet 
trimmed  with  shiny  spangles  of 
gold  and  silver,  rode  out  from 
the  tent  on  white  horses. 

U0h,  come  and  see  these  peo 
ple  ! "  shouted  Shaver. 

"No,  come  this  way!"  answered 
Joe,  pointing  to  a  cage  in  which 
were  two  lions  and  a  man  in  a 
black  suit.  The  side-boards  had 
been  taken  off  the  cage  and  the 
boys  could  look  right  through  the 
iron  bars  at  the  shaggy  animals. 
—  66- 


Circus   7)ay. 


The  lions  growled  and  showed 
their  teeth  but  the  man  in  the 
black  suit  sat  between  them  with 


a  big  whip    in    his    hand    and   did 
not   seem  to  be  afraid.     The   boys 


-67- 


Circus   'Day. 


went  as  near  the  cage  as  they 
dared  and  gazed  at  the  lions  until 
they  heard  the  band  begin  to  play. 
The  parade  was  ready  to  start. 
First  the  man  who  owned  the 
show  drove  out  in  a  buggy  drawn 
by  the  two  spotted  horses.  Then 
came  the  band-wagon  and  behind 
the  wagon  came  the  spangled  men 
and  women  on  the  white  horses. 
Joe  and  Shaver  followed  the  band 
wagon  down  the  street.  They  had 
never  heard  such  lively  and  noisy 
music  before. 

-68- 


Circus   'Day. 


When  they  looked  back  they 
saw  a  long  line  of  wagons  and 
cages.  The  elephant  and  the 
camels  and  the  clown  driving  the 
ponies  were  all  coming  along  be 
hind.  It  seemed  to  them  that  the 
parade  was  nearly  a  mile  long. 
They  stopped  at  the  butcher  shop 
corner  to  see  the  procession  go  by 
and  then  they  ran  up  the  line  to 
get  back  to  the  band-wagon.  Joe 
saw  his  father  and  mother  and 
his  sister  Dora  in  front  of  the 
store,  but  he  was  too  busy  to 


Circus   'Day. 


stop.  He  had  to  see  the  whole 
parade  two  or  three  times.  It 
wasn't  every  day  a  circus  came 
to  town. 


—  70— 


THE  SIDE-SHOW 


—  71  — 


THE     SIDE-SHOW 


p  TO  this  time  the  boys 
had  not  paid  much 
attention  to  the  side 
show.  When  the  pa 
rade  came  back  to  the 
circus  grounds  the  bio-  colored 
banners  had  been  put  up  in  front 
of  the  side-show  tent.  One  ban 
ner  had  a  picture  of  a  fat  woman 
as  big1  as  an  elephant,  and  an 
other  had  a  picture  of  a  little  man 
no  higher  than  a  silk  hat.  The 
-  73 


Circus   'Day. 


picture  marked  u Albino"  showed 
a  girl  whose  hair  stood  out 
straight  on  all  sides,  and  made  a 
bunch  as  big  as  a  tub.  There 
were  other  pictures  just  as  strange. 
As  soon  as  Joe  and  Shaver  saw 
these  paintings  they  forgot  all 
about  the  band-wagon. 

uPass  in,"  shouted  a  man  stand 
ing  on  a  box  in  front  of  the  side 
show.  "  Everything  you  see  on 
the  banners  we  have  alive  on  the 
inside.  A  ticket  costs  but  ten 
cents." 

—  74  — 


Circus 


Joe  bought  two  tickets.  He 
and  Shaver  went  inside  and  what 
do  yon  think  ?  There  was  Sam 


Groves    turning    the    crank    of    a 
hand-organ  ! 


—  75  — 


Circus   'Day. 


>c  How  much  do  you  get,  Sam?11 
asked  Shaver. 

u  T  get  to  stay  in  here.11 
U0h,  look  at  that  fat  woman!11 
They  left  Sam  to  make  music 
on  the  hand-organ  and  they  went 
to  look  at  the  fat  woman,  the  lit 
tle  man,  and  the  other  funny  things 
in  the  side-show.  The  fat  woman 
was  not  as  big  as  the  elephant, 
of  course,  but  she  wras  ever  so 
big,  and  the  dwarf,  who  had  a 
mustache,  was  not  as  tall  as 
either  Joe  or  Shaver.  There  was 


Circus   *Day. 


a  Punch-and-Judy  show  and  a 
magician  and  a  red-headed  i>'irl 
who  wrapped  a  snake  around  her 


neck.     The    snake    was    about    ten 
feet 


'Day. 


Joe  said,  "  Pshaw !  They  had 
a  picture  of  one  nearly  a  hundred 
feet  long." 

When  he  counted  up  his  money 
he  had  fifty-three  cents  left.  Shaver 
had  only  twenty-five  cents,  just 
enough  to  get  him  into  the  big 
show. 

The  boys  wanted  to  stay  in  the 
side-show  longer,  but  they  were 
afraid  they  would  be  too  late  for 
the  circus.  Sure  enough,  when 
they  went  outside  there  was  a 
crowd  of  people  around  the 
-78- 


Circus   'Day. 


ticket-wagon  and  the  man  in  the 
wagon  was  handing  out  tickets 
and  taking  in  money  with  both 
hands. 

Joe  and  Shaver  wriggled  through 
the  crowd  and  bought  their  tickets. 
They  followed  the  line  of  people 
and  soon  found  themselves  in  the 
menagerie  tent.  The  boards  had 
been  taken  off  the  cages  and  the 
boys  saw  the  hyenas,  the  leopard, 
the  lions,  the  tiger,  and  the  other 
wild  animals  pacing  up  and  down 
in  the  cages.  The  boys  knew 
-79- 


Circus   2) ay. 


what  they  wanted  to  see.  They 
went  to  the  monkey  cage.  There 
were  twelve  monkeys,  with  the 


r  i  ii  !i  li  l  I  I  II  I  I  II 


oddest     wrinkled    faces    and     stub 
noses  the  boys  had  ever  seen. 

-80  — 


Circus   "Day. 


1  They  look  just  like  some  peo 
ple,"  said  Shaver,  and  then  he 
started  with  surprise  when  he  saw 
an  old  gray  monkey  take  hold  of 
a  young1  one  and  box  its  ears  just 
as  a  real  human  parent  might 
have  done. 

But  what  is  the  need  of  telling 
any  boy  or  girl  about  the  funny 
tricks  of  monkeys  ?  or  how  Joe 
bought  ten  cents'  worth  of  pea 
nuts  to  feed  the  elephant  ?  or 
how  the  band  began  to  play  in 
the  other  big  tent  while  Joe  and 

o  -81- 


Circus   *Da,y. 


Shaver  raced  with  the  other  peo 
ple  to  get  a  good  place  on  the 
blue  seats  so  they  could  see  every 
thing  that  happened  in  the  ring  ? 

There  are  some  shows  nowa 
days  that  have  two  or  three  rings, 
and  there  are  so  many  people  per 
forming  all  at  once,  that  a  boy 
would  need  about  six  eyes  to  see 
everything.  But  this  show  that  Joe 
and  Shaver  attended  had  only  one 
ring,  and  that  was  enough,  for  the 
boys  were  kept  busy  watching  the 
wonderful  things  that  were  done. 
-82- 


Circus 


There  is  no  need  of  telling 
how  they  enjoyed  it.  They  for 
got  that  it  was  a  warm  day  and 
that  they  had  to  sit  on  a  hard 
board.  They  forgot  that  they  had 
eaten  nothing  since  breakfast. 
They  sat  there  with  staring  eyes 
and  their  mouths  open  with  as 
tonishment  at  the  bare-back  rid 
ers,  tumblers,  trapeze  performers, 
trained  ponies,  jugglers,  "benders," 
and  rope-walkers  —  but  best  of  all 
they  liked  the  old  clown.  The  way 
he  fell  over  ropes  !  And  how  he 
—  83- 


Circus   'Day. 


ran  when  the  rin^-master  cracked 
his  whip  !  Joe  and  Shaver  laughed 
until  their  sides  ached.  They  kept 
thinking  that  when  they  grew  up 


thet  would  be  circus  clowns,  even 
if  they  had  to  run  away  from 
home. 

-84- 


BANKRUPTED 


BANKRUPTED 

ICKETS  for  the  concert  were 
ten  cents  each.  Shaver 
had  no  money  and  Joe 
had  eighteen  cents  re 
maining.  Two  tickets 
would  cost  twenty  cents.  How 
were  they  to  manage  it  ? 

uDo  you  s'pose  they'd  sell  us 
two  tickets  for  eighteen  cents?" 
asked  Shaver. 

Joe  shook  his  head  as  if  in 
doubt. 

-87- 


Circus   *Day. 


"I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do!" 
said  Shaver.  u  I'll  borrow  five 
cents  from  Mr.  Fuller." 

Mr.  Fuller  was  the  man  who 
kept  the  hardware  store. 

He  was  sitting  near  the  boys. 
Shaver  went  over  to  him  and 
said,  "  Mr.  Fuller,  if  you'll  lend  me 
five  cents  I  can  see  the  concert." 

Mr.  Fuller  laughed  and  said, 
"All  right,  Shaver,  I'll  see  if  I 
can  raise  that  much." 

His  little  daughter,  Carrie 
Fuller,  was  seated  behind  him. 

-88  — 


Circus   'Day. 


"Oh,   Shaver,"    said    she,  "don't 

you  think  the  circus  is  lots  of  fun?" 

"You    bet,"    replied    Shaver,    as 


he  received  the  nickel  and  started 
back  to  join  Joe. 

—  89  — 


Circus   'Day. 


So  the  boys  waited  for  the  con 
cert  which  was  not  as  good  as 
the  circus  —  only  some  blacked-up 
men  who  danced  on  a  little  plat 
form  laid  in  the  ring  and  a  yellow  - 
haired  woman  who  sang  a  song. 

After  the  concert  the  boys 
roamed  around  through  the  ani 
mal  tent  and  saw  the  lions  eat 
some  of  Mr.  Klein's  raw  meat. 
They  had  seen  so  many  new  and 
wonderful  things  during  the  day 
they  seemed  to  be  walking  in  a 
dream. 


Circus   'Day. 


u  How  long-  does  it  feel  to  you 
since  we  got  up  this  morning  ? " 
asked  Shaver. 

u  Oh,  it  seems  like  a  week," 
replied  Joe. 

After  they  had  looked  at  all 
the  animals  again  and  watched 
two  monkeys  fight  over  a  peanut, 
they  went  outside.  By  this  time  it 
was  about  4:30  in  the  afternoon. 
They  met  Sam  Groves,  who  said  he 
had  become  tired  of  playing  on  the 
hand-organ  and  had  turned  the  job 
over  to  a  boy  from  the  country. 
-91- 


Circus 


Shaver  said  he  felt  a  little 
hungry.  So  did  Joe,  but  he  had 
only  three  cents  left. 

u  I  don't  want  to  go  home, 
though,"  said  Joe.  u  We  might 
miss  something." 

They  roamed  around  the  out 
side  of  the  big  tent  where  some 
of  the  circus  men  lay  asleep  in 
the  shade.  They  watched  other 
circus  men  rub  down  the  beautiful 
horses  and  what  interested  them  as 
much  as  anything  was  the  black 
smith  shop,  with  a  small  forge 


Circus   'Day. 


standing  on  three  iron  legs.  A  cir 
cus  carries  its  own  blacksmith  shop. 
They  also  watched  the  two  cooks 
who  were  getting-  supper  ready  for 
the  circus  men.  The  cooks  wore 
long  white  aprons  and  one  of 
them  opened  about  twenty  cans 
of  sweet  corn  and  emptied  them 
into  a  great  kettle  on  top  of  the 
sheet-iron  stove.  Joe  saw  his 
uncle  Frank  standing  near  the 
cook-tent,  so  he  went  up  and 
said  :  u  Hello,  Uncle  Frank  ;  I'm 
awful  hungry." 

-93  — 


Circus   "Day. 


'Why    don't   you    go  home  and 
i'et  something  to  eat?" 
''It  might  take  too  long." 


Have  you  got  any  money  ?  " 
I've  got    three    cents,  but    that 


—  94  — 


C/Vct/sf   'Day. 


won't  buy  very  much    for    me  and 
Shaver.'7 

"I     suppose     you     want     some 


money.'1 


"I  don't  care,"  said  Joe,  but  he 
said  it  as  if  he  meant  "Yes." 

His  Uncle  Frank  laughed  and 
handed  him  a  quarter.  Joe  jumped 
with  joy.  lie  and  Shaver  went 
over  to  a  huckster-stand  and 
bought  five  cents'  worth  of  bologna 
sausage  and  five  cents'  worth  of 
sweet  crackers.  They  sat  on  the 
edge  of  the  sidewalk  and  ate  the 

-95- 


Circus   'Day. 


lunch,  all  the  time  watching  the 
circus  tent  so  that  if  anything 
happened  they  would  be  sure  to 
see  it.  The  bologna  was  salty 
and  the  crackers  were  dry,  so 
that  when  the  boys  finished  eat 
ing  they  were  thirsty. 

"Let's  go  and  get  some  lemon 
ade,"  said  Joe,  proudly  jingling 
the  eighteen  cents  in  his  pocket. 

They  bought  two  glasses  of 
lemonade  at  the  huckster-stand 
near  the  side-show.  The  lemon 
ade  did  not  taste  as  if  it  had 
-96- 


Circus   'Day. 


lemons  in  it,  but,  anyway,  it  was 
wet  and  sweet. 

u  My !  They  give  you  about  a 
gallon  for  five  cents,  don't  they?" 
said  Shaver,  as  he  paused  for 
breath,  while  the  red  lemonade 
dripped  from  his  chin. 

The  boys  drank  all  they  could 
stand  and  it  made  them  feel  cold 
and  washy  inside. 


—  97  — 


AT  NIGHT 


—99— 


AT     NIGHT 

HE  circus  is  a  fine  sight 
in  the  daytime  with  the 
flags  waving  in  the  sun 
light  and  the  big  tents 
swelling  before  the 
wind,  but  the  right  time  to  see  a 
circus  is  at  night. 

Then  the  lights,  inside  and  out 
side,  make  the  great  tents  appear 
like  fairy  palaces  of  snow.  The 
performers  in  their  spangled  clothes 
seem  to  be  covered  with  diamonds 
-101- 


Circus   "Day. 


and  gold  dust  and  the  rough 
ground  around  the  circus  ring  is 
changed,  in  the  softened  light,  to 
a  rich  carpet.  Boys  and  girls 
who  look  at  the  dashing  horses 
with  their  bold  riders  and  listen 
to  the  lively  music  of  the  band 
can  well  believe  that  they  have 
reached  some  enchanted  country 
far  from  their  own  little  town. 

Joe    and    Shaver    lingered    out 
side    of    the    tent    as    the    lights 
flared  up,  one  after  another.     The 
hand-organ  in    the    side-show  was 
-102- 


Circus   *Day. 


grinding  the  same  old  tune  and 
the  man  on  the  box  was  shouting 
at  the  people.  Joe  was  shocked 
to  hear  the  man  tell  about  u  a 
den  of  the  largest  and  most 
deadly  snakes  on  earth,"  for  Joe 
knew  there  was  but  one  snake 
and  a  sleepy  one  at  that. 

Once  more  the  men  pushed  up 
to  the  ticket-wagon,  and  as  Joe 
saw  other  boys  going  into  the 
show  he  began  to  wish  that  he 
could  see  the  tumblers  again  and 
hear  the  old  clown  sing  the  comic 

-103- 


Circus   'Day. 


song.  But  Joe's  money  was  gone, 
all  but  eight  cents,  and  as  he 
looked  back  over  the  day  and 


counted    up,    he    was    alarmed    to 

find  that  he  had  spent  ninety  cents. 

-104- 


Circus   *Day. 


More  people  went  into  the 
menagerie  tent.  Joe  could  hear 
the  roar  of  the  lion,  and  the 
shouts  of  laughter  from  children 
around  the  monkey-cage.  The 
monkeys  were  showing  off  again 
and  here  he  was,  standing  out 
side,  missing  all  the  fun !  Joe 
began  to  feel  that  unless  he  had 
another  look  at  the  gray  monkey 
he  would  never  again  be  happy. 

But  how  was  he  to  get  in  ? 
He  couldn't  crawl  under  the  tent, 
for  a  boy  had  tried  that  in  the 

-105- 


Circus   'Day. 


afternoon  and  had  been  chased 
by  a  circus  man,  who  swore  at 
him. 

Aha !  He  had  it !  He  would 
get  near  the  ticket-wagon  and 
wait  for  his  father  and  mother 
and  his  sister  Dora.  His  father 
had  been  in  the  store  all  day,  but 
Joe  knew  he  would  come  to  the 
circus  at  night.  Joe  knew  that 
grown-up  people  do  not  make  as 
much  fuss  about  a  circus  as  boys 
and  girls  do,  but  they  like  to  go 
just  the  same. 

-106  — 


Circus   'Day. 


Shaver  Thompson  had  been  lost 
in  the  crowd. 

Joe  moved  up  to  where  he 
could  see  all  the  people  who  ar 
rived.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
almost  everybody  in  town  except 
his  father  and  mother  came  up  to 
get  tickets.  There  were  also  many 
country  people  whom  he  did  not 
know. 

What  if  they  were  already  in 
side  ?  The  mere  thought  of  this 
brought  a  few  tears  to  his  eyes, 
but  he  brushed  them  away  and 

-107- 


Circus   'Day. 


was  mad  at  himself  for  being  so 
much  like  a  girl.  Then  he  saw 
his  father  coming  toward  the 
ticket-wagon  and  he  ran  for 
him. 

"Oh,  pa!"  he  shouted. 

u  Hello  there!"  said  Mr.  Wal 
lace  ;  u  where  have  you  been  all 
day?" 

u  Oh,  just  around.  Pa,  I  want 
to  go  in." 

"  Didn't  you  see  the  show  this 
afternoon  ?  " 

"Yes,  but  then  I- 
-108  — 


Circus   Day. 


"What  have  you  done  with 
your  money  ?  " 

"I've  got  eight  cents  left,"  said 
Joe,  and  then  he  felt  a  kind  of 
choking  in  his  throat  because  he 
knew  he  was  not  telling  the  whole 
truth.  His  father  did  not  know 
about  the  quarter  from  Uncle 
Frank. 

Mr.  Wallace  had  to  laugh,  but 
he  bought  an  extra  ticket  for  Joe 
and  then  led  him  over  to  where 
Mrs.  Wallace  and  Dora  were 


waiting. 


—  109  — 


C/rct/sf   'Day. 


"  Joseph  Wallace,  where  did 
you  get  your  dinner  and  supper  ?  " 
asked  his  mother. 

It  seemed  to  Joe  sometimes 
that  his  mother  wanted  to  know 
too  many  things. 

"  I  didn't  want  any,"  replied  Joe. 
"  Let's  hurry  or  well  miss  the 
best  part." 

You  see,  he  wanted  to  change 
the  subject. 

When  they  went  into  the  tent 
Joe  dragged  Dora  over  to  the 
monkey  cage  to  show  her  the 
—  110  — 


Circus   *Day. 


gray  monkey.  There  was  Shaver 
Thompson  hanging  over  the  ropes 
tossing  peanuts  into  the  cage. 


"  How  did  you  get  in  ?  "  asked 
Joe. 


—  ill  — 


Circus   'Day. 


"  I  saw  my  father." 

U8o  did  I." 

The  band  began  to  play  in  the 
other  tent. 

With  Dora  between  them,  hold 
ing  to  their  hands,  Joe  and  Shaver 
hurried  into  the  circus  tent  to  get 
their  last  look  at  the  wonderful 
sights. 


—  112  — 


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